Canadian Black List?

Q. Is there anything like a Canadian "Black List" of the best unproduced screenplays?

Not that I'm aware of; although the WGC does from time to time award the Jim Burt Prize to the best unproduced screenplay that hasn't been optioned.

I would call development people at the finer production houses around town and ask what scripts they loved that they were unable to option, say because the material didn't fit their mandate, or their boss didn't love it. They'd probably be happy to tell you. No one wants to see a good script go unmade.

What Happened to Nottingham?

Here's the very interesting story about what happened to Ethan Rieff and Cy Voris's fascinating script about the Sheriff of Nottingham -- sort of an early Sherlock Holmes story, with the sheriff tracking a terrorist named Robin using period forensics -- on its way to becoming the awful new ROBIN HOOD movie.

I remember negotiating to option Ethan and Cy's stuff long, long ago when I was a development guy. (I think it was a horror movie about the goddess Tanit.) Good to see they've become such good writers; sorry to hear they're getting badly rewritten.

Long Treatments of the Past?

I've heard from a few different people that during the old studio system days of Hollywood screenplays were written from lengthy treatments. I've heard as high as 300 pages. Were these regularly produced before screenplays?

Beats me. I do know that Telefilm asks for a twenty-page treatment before you go to script, and I find that unbearably long. At that point you're writing dialog, you're just not writing it in the format.

Many people have learned how to read a script, but few people really know how to read a treatment. So it may be that to communicate all the things that a good script does, some writers overwrote.

But it seems to me a good way to take all the fun out of writing the script.

Getting Ahead of Yourself

Q. I created a series, wrote the template, pilot, and came up with a dozen springboards for episodes. After submitting my show concept to two actors/producers (I checked them out IMDB) they optioned the idea for eight months. If the show gets picked up, how much control will I have ? Would it be rude for me to ask the Network for permission to hire the writers?

No, certainly not rude. It's understood that a newbie creator would like to work with an experienced showrunner who's on the same wavelength, who's going to try to bring the newbie up rather than sidelining her. Whether the network lets you interview potential showrunners depends on how you come across to them. If they think you're a sensible person, and they believe that part of what they're buying is your unique vision -- and not just a concept you happened to trip over -- then they'll want to keep you involved. The showrunner will probably not consult you much on the other writers, but if you're on the same page about what the show is, he'll have your vision in mind.

However, you need to go back and read your option agreement, which I am going to guess you signed without showing it to an agent or entertainment lawyer. Your contract determines what rights you have, including your right to continued involvement on your show. It should say that you'll have meaningful consultation on the showrunner; if you had a great negotiator it might even say you had veto over the showrunner. The contract should also say how many scripts you are guaranteed per season, that you have a guaranteed staff job with a guaranteed credit, that you keep the Created By credit, or a minimum of a shared Created By credit if the showrunner rewrites the pilot. It should contain a per-episode creative royalty, which could be a percentage of budget or a flat fee. It should include travel and living expenses if you're required to work away from home. And so on.

See, the option agreement is supposed to say "we have the right to buy your show, and if we do, here's what you get at that point." That's why option agreements take so ungodly long to negotiate. Long before a show I create is a real thing, before anyone is making money on it, my agent has to negotiate every detail of my package of compensation and credit. Because until I've signed the option, I have total control of my project. If they want it, they have to make me happy. After I've signed it, they may still want to keep me happy, but they don't have to.

All this is why you never, ever, ever negotiate your deal yourself.

Forgot to mention, I'm currently writing episode 5. The guys who optioned really liked my writing and told me to just keep on writing. I figure I'd write 13 and stop. If the show gets picked up, I was thinking, because of the economy, the order would be 6 episodes, 13 if were lucky , and 22 if we're extremely lucky

Stop writing scripts. Please.

Unless, that is, you're getting paid to write them. And I doubt you are, since they told you to " just keep on writing."

Getting a show made is striking the jackpot. It doesn't happen that often. Professional writers wax fat on staff jobs, but we survive on development deals. I spent all last year developing my pay cable show, writing draft after draft, running a story room, revising the season arcs, etc. If it doesn't go, I'll mourn, but my agent will still be very, very pleased with me.

You should not do any more new scripts until you are getting paid to write scripts.

Writing additional scripts also doesn't make sense creatively. No one at the network is going to read past episode 3 when they're deciding to pick up the show or not. In fact, most of them won't read past the pilot.

Moreover, the network may have different ideas about your show. TV development is collaborative. On NAKED JOSH, we started with a show about a freshman in college. The network asked us to age it up. We wound up with a show about a young professor. Imagine if we'd written five scripts about a freshman in college! Writing TV is a process of sending something to the network, getting feedback, and rewriting. For my pay cable series, I've written dozens of drafts of the first three scripts trying to nail "what the show is." The network hated one script (my bad) and I had to throw the entire thing out.

Don't get ahead of where your project is.

I would put all your energies into writing and rewriting the pilot. Make sure it is brilliant. Examine each line in it. Can you make that line smarter, more distinctive? Can you make the action sing? Writing is rewriting. Get real actors to read the script out loud at a table reading. (Maybe your actor producers can help there.)

Also, keep trying to improve the springboards, without actually writing the scripts. A great pilot with a great season arc document is all you need to sell a show to a network.

Deal Terms for Newbies

Q. 1) What does it mean when a studio wants to buy a pilot script; what are they buying?

They are buying all rights. The script, the characters, the series concept, spinoffs, prequels, movie rights, book rights, everything.

Q. What opportunities and/or obligations does that impart to the writer?

Whatever's in the contract.

There are two flavors of this deal. One is with a potential showrunner. One is with a writer who is not considered a viable showrunner. Either deal spells out how much money the writer gets for the option; how much he gets if the series is produced; what kind of royalty he gets per episode; whether he has a right to be similarly compensated, or even to work on, spinoff series, movie spinoffs, etc.

Either deal specifies what the writer's involvement on the show will be. In the case of the showrunner, that he'll run the show, at least until fired; also how much he'll get paid, how many scripts he's guaranteed etc. A less experienced writer should also be guaranteed a certain number of scripts and a staff job on salary.

Q. Can a lawyer handle a deal like this, or is it imperative that I have an agent?

Most contract lawyers, even most entertainment lawyers, are only able to make sure the contract says you get what the other side agreed you'd get. (Or, on the other side, to write language that makes sure the studio doesn't have to pay you what the studio agreed to pay you. Which is why you need a lawyer or a smart agent.) Top entertainment lawyers, and all good agents, know what deal terms to ask for and what not to ask for. However if you actually have someone optioning your pilot, it shouldn't be hard to find an agent willing to negotiate.

Q. What does 'development' entail? If the project is not bought outright and I'm to be involved in the production, what are my possible roles in the development process?

The project is never "bought outright." It's optioned. Then the studio (or prodco or network) commissions scripts. Depending on your stature in the biz, you may be able to insist on writing all the development scripts (my contracts do), or at least co-writing them. When the project gets a greenlight, then you move on to production scripts.

Note: I also blogged about this here.

Turnaround

What is turnaround? I would think they would give it back to the producer and he would try to shop around again or give it back to you if he/she is not interested. And if so, does the producer have to pay you, the writer fees?

Turnaround is when the studio, having shelved a project, gives the producer an opportunity to buy the project back for an amount in the neighborhood of every single cost the studio can allocate to the project. Practically it means that the producer can take it to another studio and try to get the other studio to buy it from the first studio.

A studio can easily rack up a couple million bucks just ordering rewrites, so normally it is very hard to use your turnaround rights. However, see LORD OF THE RINGS.

The writer does not get his rights back until his contract says he does. Some writer contracts have turnaround or actual reversion clauses (mine do); usually the producer has bought irrevocable rights.

The producer only has to pay the writer fees per his contract. So if selling the project to another studio means that the show goes, and you get paid a production fee when the show goes, then mazel tov to you, you're getting paid. But turnaround itself does not generate any fees to the writer.